Rome - the capital of the Christian religion, the Ecclesiastical State, the centre of Western European culture and one of the greatest cities in the world - has for centuries attracted influential and talented people. Politicians, clergymen, aristocrats, artists of various disciplines, tourists on their Grand Tour, numerous pilgrims wanted to influence its history and appearance or at least breathe in its atmosphere. The city itself provided innumerable opportunities to demonstrate diplomatic or artistic talent. The smallest celebration, be it of a religious or political nature (a battle won, a peace treaty signed) or one on the borderline between the public and private spheres (a birthday, a wedding, a death in a Roman aristocratic or European ruling family), became an opportunity for a glamorous celebration with elaborate decorations, candlelight, fireworks and music. Not surprisingly, representatives of the Sobieski family also wanted to make their presence felt in the Eternal City. And this was the case both during the reign of John III and after his death, thanks primarily to the activity of the queen dowager Maria Kazimiera Sobieska, who resided in Rome between 1699 and 1714, her son Prince Alexander Sobieski, who joined his mother in 1709, and Sobieska's granddaughter Maria Clementina, who in 1719 married James III Stuart, pretender to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland. This one, as a Catholic, received the support of the papacy and resided in the Eternal City. Paradoxically, an enduring element in shaping the Sobieski family's position and prestige in Rome turned out to be the inherently ephemeral music - the sounds of cantatas, oratorios, serenatas, operas, sinfonias or thanksgiving 'Te Deum' performed in Rome's magnificent churches.

A real explosion of occasional creativity erupted when news of John III Sobieski's victory at Vienna (1683) reached Rome. Local poets grabbed their pens to honour the Mars of Sarmatia in panegyric poetry and triumphal odes, but also in occasional cantatas (e.g. "Sotto quet'empie mura" - libretto attributed to Flavio Orsini, music by Giacomo Simonelli) and political oratorios, such as "Golia abbatuto" (libretto author unknown, music by Alessandro Melani). The importance of Poland and Sobieski's support for the anti-Turkish policy of the papacy had, moreover, already been emphasised earlier in the oratorio 'San Casimiro Prencipe Reale di Polonia' (libretto Ottavio Santacroce, music probably by Giovanni Bicilli) performed at the Oratorio dei Filippini alla Vallicella on 6 March 1678. However, most music celebrating the Sobieski surname resounded in Rome on the initiative of the queen-in-law Maria Kazimiera.

Sobieska arrived in the capital of the Ecclesiastical State in March 1699, after all chances of maintaining power in the Republic had been lost. Rome seemed the perfect place for her to stay, as the Pope still venerated the memory of the conqueror of the infidels here, which gave her hope for a peaceful but also dignified stay for a person of her stature, and the approaching Jubilee year - 1700 - provided a convenient official pretext for her departure. The Queen quickly adapted to the local environment. The power of her husband's surname and her royal past opened the doors of the palaces of the most important people in the city to her. She therefore frequented the residences of Roman and foreign aristocrats, diplomats, the all-powerful cardinals and noble ladies of the Eternal City. She herself also organised meetings in the residence lent to her at the beginning of her stay by Duke Livio Odescalchi in the Piazza dei Santi Apostoli. Understanding the power of art at the service of politics, she took great care in preparing theatrical shows and performances of occasional pieces in her own Palazzo Zuccari in Piazza della Trinità de'Monti, her permanent residence since 1702. A total of 8 'drammi per musica', as operas were called at the time, were presented in the Queen's private theatre, which unfortunately has not survived (now home to the Bibliotheca Hertziana - Max Planck Institute of Art History). They were:

1. "Il figlio delle selve", dramma per musica, 1709,
2. "Silvia", dramma pastorale, 1710,
3. "Tolomeo et Alessandro", dramma per musica, 1711,
4. "Orlando overo la gelosa pazzia", dramma, 1711,
5. "Tetide in Sciro", dramma per musica, 1712,
6. "Iphigenia in Aulide", dramma per musica, 1713,
7. "Iphigenia in Tauride", dramma per musica, 1713,
8. "Amor d'un Ombra e gelosia d'un'Aura", dramma per musica, 1714.

Their librettos were written by the Romans' esteemed poet and secretary to the Queen, a member of Italy's famous Arcadian Academy, Carlo Sigismondo Capece, and the music for as many as seven of them by the young but extremely talented harpsichord virtuoso Domenico Scarlatti. The lute virtuoso Silvius Leopold Weiss was also among the talented artists in Sobieska's small orchestra.

The Queen consistently consolidated her position as monarch with commemorative compositions, in which she recalled the military successes of John III. On 12 September, to mark the anniversary of the relief of Vienna, she not only had her palace beautifully illuminated, performing the 'Te Deum' in the church of Trinità de'Monti, but also solemn serenades from the tempietta added to her palace by the architect and stage designer Filippo Juvarra. She also used the bridge connecting parts of her residence - called by the Romans the 'Ponte della Regina' (Queen's Bridge), but which was demolished at the end of the 18th century. At least two librettos of such compositions have survived to the present day (unfortunately, the musical scores, which were unprinted at the time, have been lost). These were 'La vittoria della Fede' (libretto 1708) and 'Applauso Devoto al Nome di Maria Santissima' (1712). On the other hand, in the serenata 'Il Tebro fatidico' (1704), dedicated to the queen's nine-year-old granddaughter of the same names as her, staying with her in Rome, Maria Kazimiera paid homage to the incumbent Pope Clement XI, thus assuring him of her confidence in his power. In the Applausi del Sole e della Senna (1704), celebrating the birthday of Louis XIV's first great-grandson, the queen, meanwhile, gave expression to her political sympathies at a time when the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713) was just unfolding in Europe. In 1707, upon hearing that her sons James and Constantine had been freed from the captivity of Augustus II, she ordered a solemn 'Te Deum' to be performed both in the Polish church of St Stanislaus and in the monastery she had founded. We also learn from the chronicles of the time that the Palazzo Zuccari was beautifully illuminated and, to the sound of trumpets and firecrackers, the news of the young Sobieski's release was announced to Rome. In the days that followed, the Queen's palace resounded with music and new entertainments and games were organised. In such joyous circumstances, the serenata 'L'Amicizia d'Hercole, e Theseo e ballo della Gloria' also sounded. In the Avvisi Marescotti we read: "The Queen [of Poland] provided noble entertainment for the local aristocracy, as on several occasions a princess danced her granddaughter in her little theatre in a 'ballo', which was preceded by a beautiful 'introduttione in musica'; exceptional vivacity and temperament were shown by Her Majesty".

The Queen also celebrated with a performance of the serenata 'La gloria innamorata' (libretto by Giacomo Buonaccorsi, music by Quirino Colombani) the addition of Alexander Sobieski to the permanent residents of Palazzo Zuccari in 1709. Uninterested in politics, the prince soon became known as a well-educated man, interested in the arts, especially music, with refined taste, who willingly performed the honours of master of the house during the opera performances presented at Palazzo Zuccari, but also the originator of them. This is evidenced by the following passage from the poem 'L'Arcadia' (book VII) by the erudite poet and custodian of the Arcadian Academy, which the young Sobieski also entered, Giovanni M. Crescimbeni:

"The theatre was extraordinarily beautiful and nothing could have been more proportionate or more appropriate to the occasion: the voices pleasant, the action serious, the costumes graceful and splendidly designed, and the music excellent: The orchestra sounded exceptional, but above all the poetic composition proved respectable: so all judged that this entertainment was worthy of the Royal Genius [i.e. Alexander Sobieski] who created it, and no more and no less surpassed all that was necessary to make it a success."

Just five years after Maria Kazimiera left Rome and after the death of Prince Alexander Sobieski (1714), who was buried with full splendour and to the sound of magnificent music in the Capuchin church of Santa Maria Immacolata, the queen's granddaughter, Maria Klementina Sobieska (1701-1735), arrived in the Eternal City. On 1 September 1719, the young Sobieska officially married the pretender to the English throne, James III Stuart, at Montefiascone.

In 1720, the Stuart couple assumed the honoured position of patrons of Rome's most influential and elegant opera theatre, the Teatro d'Alibert (from 1726 the Teatro delle Dame). Both in the Eternal City and in other Italian and European centres, the opera theatre was the centre of social, social, political and artistic life. Attending the opera theatre was part of every aristocrat's lifestyle, as Anna Toledo perfectly observed: "Listening to music, going to the opera, having musicians on one's service, patronising performances and even having sexual relations with the singers formed part of the aristocrat's 'lifestyle'", alongside attending hunts, banquets, wearing jewellery and certain costumes. The opera theatre was the place to show off and be admired.

Over a period of almost ten years (1720-1730), 16 drammi per musica were dedicated to James III and Maria Clementina at the Teatro d'Alibert (the theatre burned down in 1863, but its existence is attested to by via Degli Orti d'Alibert near Piazza di Spagna). Invariably, the first work honoured James III, the second his wife. These works were composed by highly regarded, prominent composers of the time, such as Francesco Gasparini, Nicola Porpora, Domenico Sarro, Luca Antonio Predieri and Leonardo Vinci, among others. In the repertoire dedicated to the Stuarts, the most famous castrato in the history of opera, Carlo Broschi, better known as Farinelli, and another outstanding castrato singer, Gaetano Majorano, known as Caffarelli, made his debut on the opera theatre stage. The magnificent talents of the recalled artists, the operatic genre and the space of the public theatre were all used here to enhance the prestige of James III and his wife as legitimate rulers of Britain and the Stuart position on the European stage.

Neither James III Stuart nor his sons succeeded in returning to the British throne. Representatives of the Sobieski family never sat on the throne again. The history of both royal families ends with the 18th century. Nevertheless, it is worth remembering that the compositions created on their initiative are an important part of the history of European music, which deservedly arouses increasing interest among performers and music lovers, proving the great sensitivity, intelligence, foresight and above all talent of the representatives of the Sobieski family in the field of musical patronage.